New Era of Virginia Spirits: What the July 1 Changes Mean for Virginia Distillery Visitors
Virginia’s tasting room experience is evolving! If you’re planning a visit to a Virginia distillery, there’s exciting news. Beginning July 1, 2026, Virginia law allows distilleries to offer expanded tasting and cocktail experiences by increasing the daily on-site consumption limit from 3 ounces to 6 ounces per guest. For visitors, that means more opportunities to […]
Making Herstory: Women in the Virginia Spirits Industry
Legacy Rooted in Tradition The roots of women’s contributions to Virginia distilling can be traced back to colonial America. According to early Chesapeake records, women were often responsible for managing in-home distilling practices, producing whiskey, rum and brandy for the household. During this time, men, women and children relied on distilled spirits for sanitation and […]
Happy Golden (Cocktails) of Yore
Written by Patrick Evans-Hylton, a Johnson & Wales-trained chef, food historian and award-winning food journalist covering tasty trends since 1995. He is the author of Virginia Distilled: Four Centuries of Drinking in the Old Dominion. Visit VirginiaEatsAndDrinks.com for more. Time for tradition The holidays are a time for tradition and breaking bread with family and friends. Of course, our favorite […]
Prohibition, America’s Failed Noble Experiment
By Patrick Evans-Hylton Despite the devil-may-care attitude at the end of the 19th century, which included the first golden era of the cocktail, a storm was brewing on the horizon. Across Virginia, and across the whole country, a call for temperance rose from a few meetings of the like-minded who thought alcohol consumption should be curbed to […]
Virginia Spirits Raise The “Bar”
By Patrick Evans-Hylton There’s always been a place where Virginians could gather and enjoy a drink or two. But in our 400-plus year history, the bar (if you will pardon the pun) has been raised. Taverns were well established in England prior to colonists coming to Virginia, so it makes sense that they would become part […]
From First Landing to First Spirit – Celebrating Virginia as the Birthplace of American Spirits
By Patrick Evans-Hylton In 1606, London was crowded with taverns, offering up pewter mugs of beer, cider, and wine. There was drink meant for heartier souls too, including genevere, a gin-like, juniper-centric liquor, and a somewhat ubiquitous distilled spirit known as “aqua vitae”. On December 20 of that year, three small ships were docked in the […]
Say Hello to the Virginia Spirits Blog
From our origins as the Birthplace of American Spirits dating back to the 1600s to more than 70 operating distilleries across the Commonwealth today, there are so many stories of innovation, creativity and perseverance left to be told. We’ll dive into the rich history of spirits-making in Virginia, the innovation of today, the local creations […]